Women of Influence
MMMM, let's see. That would be all of them. Who feeds the body, and nourishes the spirit of the children so they can grow up secure and confident in their selves and their faith? Teaching at home, and in the kindergarten is mostly by women. They have tremendous influence upon the minds and beings of those they love and care for.
I've read that the Hutterites are the most successful, longest lasting communal living religious group. Through tremendous adversity and persecution over the years, the women have managed to keep their homes a safe haven for family and religion. Surely there must have been many times they longed to leave the Hutterite way behind and secure many of the trappings of an "easier" life?
On the whole, few Hutterites leave. Surely some do. I've read of some that have left for more mainstream lifestyles, some who've left and who live quite similarly to what they left behind. And, some who've left and still are regular visitors. The majority work things out on the colony.
Over the years, the men, some of whom are noted in Bastions of the Faith, have been the fuel, and some times, nitro glycerin, which fed the fire of religious commitment. So too, though, have the Hutterite women been a part of this. They have been the embers which kept glowing in the dark and warmed the times when religious convictions might ebb.
